BILL NUMBER: AB 1886	CHAPTERED  09/20/00

	CHAPTER   544
	FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE   SEPTEMBER 20, 2000
	APPROVED BY GOVERNOR   SEPTEMBER 18, 2000
	PASSED THE ASSEMBLY   AUGUST 22, 2000
	PASSED THE SENATE   AUGUST 18, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 10, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   AUGUST 7, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 20, 2000
	AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 14, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 25, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   APRIL 4, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MARCH 23, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Lowenthal

                        FEBRUARY 10, 2000

   An act to add Section 1203.098 to the Penal Code, relating to
domestic violence.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 1886, Lowenthal.  Training requirements:  batterers' treatment
program.
   Existing law requires that a person convicted of a crime of
domestic violence, as defined, and granted probation, be required to
satisfactorily complete a batterers' treatment program.  A batterers'
treatment program is required to include specified components.
   This bill would recharacterize these programs as batterers'
intervention programs and would require facilitators of these
programs to meet minimum training requirements, including 40 hours of
basic-core training, and 52 weeks or no less than 104 hours in 6
months, as a trainee in an approved batterers' intervention program,
as defined.  The bill would require facilitators of batterers'
intervention programs to complete a minimum of 16 hours of continuing
education in either domestic violence or a related field, as
specified.  Additionally, the bill would authorize a person or agency
with a specific hardship to request the probation department for an
extension of time to complete the training or to complete alternative
training options.  The bill would exempt from its training
requirements a person who provides batterers' treatment through a
jail education program if it is determined that the person has
adequate education or training in domestic violence or a related
field, any person who provides documentation of satisfactory
completion of equivalent course work or training, and a person who
has completed the training requirements of a county probation
department with training requirements that are equivalent to or more
stringent than the requirements of this act.  By increasing the
duties of local officers, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
  The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state.  Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  Section 1203.098 is added to the Penal Code, to read:
   1203.098.  (a) Unless otherwise provided, a person who works as a
facilitator in a batterers' intervention program that provides
programs for batterers pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
1203.097 shall complete the following requirements before being
eligible to work as a facilitator in a batterers' intervention
program:
   (1) Forty hours of core-basic training.  A minimum of eight hours
of this instruction shall be provided by a shelter-based or
shelter-approved trainer.  The core curriculum shall include the
following components:
   (A) A minimum of eight hours in basic domestic violence knowledge
focusing on victim safety and the role of domestic violence shelters
in a community-coordinated response.
   (B) A minimum of eight hours in multicultural, cross cultural, and
multiethnic diversity and domestic violence.
   (C) A minimum of four hours in substance abuse and domestic
violence.
   (D) A minimum of four hours in intake and assessment, including
the history of violence and the nature of threats and substance
abuse.
   (E) A minimum of eight hours in group content areas focusing on
gender roles and socialization, the nature of violence, the dynamics
of power and control, and the affects of abuse on children and others
as required by Section 1203.097.
   (F) A minimum of four hours in group facilitation.
   (G) A minimum of four hours in domestic violence and the law,
ethics, all requirements specified by the probation department
pursuant to Section 1203.097, and the role of batterers' intervention
programs in a coordinated-community response.
   (H) Any person that provides documentation of coursework, or
equivalent training, that he or she has satisfactorily completed,
shall be exempt from that part of the training that was covered by
the satisfactorily completed coursework.
   (I) The coursework that this person performs shall count towards
the continuing education requirement.
   (2) Fifty-two weeks or no less than 104 hours in six months, as a
trainee in an approved batterers' intervention program with a minimum
of a two-hour group each week.  A training program shall include at
least one of the following:
   (A) Cofacilitation internship in which an experienced facilitator
is present in the room during the group session.
   (B) Observation by a trainer of the trainee conducting a group
session via a one-way mirror.
   (C) Observation by a trainer of the trainee conducting a group
session via a video or audio tape.
   (D) Consultation and or supervision twice a week in a six-month
program or once a week in a 52-week program.
   (3) An experienced facilitator is one who has the following
qualifications:
   (A) Documentation on file, approved by the agency, evidencing that
the experienced facilitator has the skills needed to provide quality
supervision and training.
   (B) Documented experience working with batterers for three years,
and a minimum of two years working with batterer's groups.
   (C) Documentation by January 1, 2003, of coursework or equivalent
training that demonstrates satisfactory completion of the 40-hour
basic-core training.
   (b) A facilitator of a batterers' intervention program shall
complete, as a minimum continuing education requirement, 16 hours
annually of continuing education in either domestic violence or a
related field with a minimum of 8 hours in domestic violence.
   (c) A person or agency with a specific hardship may request the
probation department, in writing, for an extension of time to
complete the training or to complete alternative training options.
   (d) (1) An experienced facilitator, as defined in paragraph (3) of
subdivision (a), is not subject to the supervision requirements of
this section, if they meet the requirements of subparagraph (C) of
paragraph (3) of subdivision (a).
   (2) This section does not apply to a person who provides batterers'
treatment through a jail education program if the person in charge
of that program determines that such person has adequate education or
training in domestic violence or a related field.
   (e) A person who satisfactorily completes the training
requirements of a county probation department whose training program
is equivalent to or exceeds the training requirements of this act
shall be exempt from the training requirements of this act.
  SEC. 2.  Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.  If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.

